The Pentagon has ordered a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, according to two United States officials, as Israel prepares to expand its Gaza operations. The first carrier strike group, which is led by the USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived off the coast of Israel earlier this week.

U.S. Defense Secretary and warmonger Lloyd Austin announced on Saturday night that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrying nine aircraft squadrons, as well as two guided-missile destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser, will soon join the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group in the region to help “deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack on Israel.”

And yet, anyone paying even a small amount of attention to what’s going on knows that the U.S.’s involvement is “widening the war.” The Biden administration has made clear that the carrier, and its accompanying force, are not there to engage in combat activities on behalf of Israel but rather to deter others from entering the conflict, including Hezbollah, according to a report by RT. 

“The increases to U.S. force posture signal the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war,” Austin stated.

Israel’s military is making it very clear that they intend to continue to advance this war. In fact, it has announced it is prepared for a coordinated air, ground, and naval offensive in the Gaza Strip “very soon,” according to reports from the Associated Press.  In a nationally broadcast address Saturday night, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari issued a new appeal to residents to move to the southern Gaza Strip.

“We are going to broadly attack Gaza City very soon,” he said.

In the meantime, Hamas is sure that Palestine will not be defeated.

With God’s grace, this movement that has started in #Palestine will advance and result in a complete victory for the Palestinians.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 14, 2023

Washington has still all the while said it “stands with Israel”  and has not tried to actually halt the unrelenting Israeli Defense Forces bombardment of civilian areas. Meanwhile, things continue ratcheting in south Lebanon, with reports of new strikes being exchanged between Israel and Hezbollah, and other pro-Palestinian factions.